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Reese Witherspoon to play Peggy Lee

Reese Witherspoon will headline a biopic about late jazz star Peggy Lee, reports Variety.

Witherspoon, who won an Oscar for playing singer June Carter in Walk The Line, is producing the Fox 2000 project with Marc Platt and has hired Nora Ephron (Julie & Julia) to write and direct the untitled picture.

Lee's hits as a vocalist include 'Fever' and 'Is That All There Is?'. She was also a prolific songwriter and voiced characters in Disney's 1955 animated film Lady And The Tramp. In the same year she won a 'Supporting Actress' Oscar nomination for Pete Kelly's Blues.

Her other big screen credits include Mr. Music and The Jazz Singer.

Witherspoon's upcoming films include James L. Brooks's How Do You Know? with Paul Rudd and Owen Wilson and Water For Elephants opposite Robert Pattinson.

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Reese Witherspoon to play Peggy Lee

Reese Witherspoon will headline a biopic about late jazz star Peggy Lee, reports Variety.

Witherspoon, who won an Oscar for playing singer June Carter in Walk The Line, is producing the untitled Fox 2000 project with Marc Platt and has hired Nora Ephron (Julie & Julia) to write and direct.

Lee's hits as a vocalist include 'Fever' and 'Is That All There Is?'. She was also a prolific songwriter and voiced characters in Disney's 1955 animated film Lady And The Tramp. In the same year, she won a 'Supporting Actress' Oscar nomination for Pete Kelly's Blues.

Her other big screen credits include Mr. Music and The Jazz Singer.

Witherspoon's upcoming films include James L. Brooks's How Do You Know? with Paul Rudd and Owen Wilson and Water For Elephants opposite Robert Pattinson.

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Disney schedules 'Frankenweenie', 'Carter'

Walt Disney Pictures has scheduled in release dates for two of its big blockbusters for 2012.

Tim Burton's Frankenweenie, based on the director's 1984 short film about a pet dog brought back from the dead by his owner, will debut in cinemaa on March 9, 2012.

The project, which sees Burton reuniting with his Charlie And The Chocolate Factory writer John August, will be a 3D stop-motion animation in the vein of A Nightmare Before Christmas.

Later that summer, Disney is to release its sci-fi fantasy John Carter Of Mars. Based on Edgar Rice Burroughs's pulp character, it will open on June 8 with Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Samantha Morton, Mark Strong, Dominic West, James Purefoy, Bryan Cranston, Thomas Hayden Church and Willem Dafoe among the cast. The story centres around a Civil War veteran who gets transported to Mars.

John Carter, which is the first movie in a planned franchise, marks the live-action directorial debut of Pixar helmer Andrew Stanton. His previous movies include WALL-E and Finding Nemo.

Disney is also reportedly planning to release Pixar's Monsters, Inc. 2 in 2012.

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Vaughn: 'Superhero movies in decline'

Kick-Ass helmer Matthew Vaughn has claimed that comic book adaptations are in decline.

Speaking to the Los Angeles Times, the director said that he took the opportunity to sign on for X-Men: First Class because he believes that the genre is soon to fold.

"It's been mined to death and in some cases the quality control is not what it's supposed to be," he said. "People are just going to get bored of it.

"I've always wanted to do a big-budget superhero film and I think we've kind of crossed the Rubicon with superhero films. I think [the opportunity to do one], it's only going to be there two or three more times."

Vaughn is also to direct and co-write Kick-Ass 2: Balls To The Wall, due for release in 2012.

X-Men: First Class arrives in theatres on June 3, 2011.

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Cruise denies Beckham 'Mission' casting

Tom Cruise has dismissed a report claiming that he wants David Beckham to appear in Mission: Impossible IV.

It was earlier reported that Cruise suggested Beckham for a pivotal cameo role in the upcoming action sequel. A source claimed that the actor wanted to cash in on Beckham's "huge following" to boost the movie's box office.

However, a representative for Cruise has now denied the speculation.

The rep told Gossip Cop that there are no plans for the footballer to appear in Mission: Impossible IV.

"This is blown out of proportion," said the spokesperson.

Explaining the situation further, they continued: "He (Cruise) was asked a simple question on [a press] tour about if he thinks David would be a good actor and he said yes… then it ran into the ether in a crazy way that doesn’t [represent] what he said."

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Stallone 'shunned' by Seagal, Van Damme

Sylvester Stallone has confirmed that Steven Seagal and Jean-Claude Van Damme both rejected offers to star in The Expendables.

Speaking to Bang Showbiz, the Rocky star revealed his disappointment that the pair shunned his request to join the action star ensemble in his blockbuster.

"I called Jean-Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal and they just had different ideas on their careers," he said. "But I did the best I could, you know?"

Despite the absence of the two stars, Stallone admitted that he was impressed with the cast he had managed to assemble.

"This was all favours, this was really low-budget. Some of these guys worked for almost nothing, including myself.

"It's just the way it is, this never could have been done in the '80s. I certainly couldn't have gotten Bruce [Willis] and Arnold [Schwarzenegger] in the '80s, they would have been too expensive and too busy. They would have taken up the whole budget of the movie."

Stallone then joked: "Jason [Statham] is a lot of money but he's worth it. Seriously, £100 a week is a lot of money!"

The Expendables is released on August 13 in the US and arrives in the UK the following week.

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Landis develops superhero film 'Chronicles'

Filmmaker John Landis has signed to produce and develop a new superhero film called Chronicles.

Landis and his son Maz are writing the script for the Fox project, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Josh Trank is attached to direct.

The movie will be a faux documentary shot with a handheld camera and follow three Portland teenagers who learn they have superpowers.

Landis is the director behind the hits An American Werewolf in London, Coming to America and The Blues Brothers.

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Mark Wahlberg 'always wanted to do comedy'

Mark Wahlberg has revealed that he has always been interested in pursuing comedic roles.

The 39-year-old stars alongside Will Ferrell in new film The Other Guys but admitted that he was nervous about doing justice to the light-hearted role.

"It's taken a long time, but I wanted to wait for the right part. I've been dying to do a comedy for a long time," he told Parade.

"There have been comedic elements in performances I've done in the past, but to take on a full-blown comedy coming from a dramatic background, it's a risky move. If it's not good, they'll crucify you and you'll obviously never get the chance to do it again."

He added that he felt comfortable taking part in the project as he trusted Ferrell's comedic experience as well as the vision of the film's writers.

"I felt very comfortable when it came to anything cop-ish or action-related. But with all of the other comedic stuff, I just basically wanted to follow their lead. We improvised every scene. We'd shoot what was on the page and then we'd improvise for the rest of the day," he explained.

"[Writers Adam McKay and Chris Henchy] came to me. They wrote the part specifically for me, so it was certainly the best case scenario to taking a plunge into the comedy world."

The Other Guys is now playing in US cinemas and will open in the UK on September 2.

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'The Avengers' to shoot next February

Marvel's superhero blockbuster The Avengers will begin production next February, Superherohype reports.

The Joss Whedon directed project will unite some of the biggest names on the Marvel Comics roster, with Iron Man's Robert Downey Jr, Thor's Chris Hemsworth and Captain America's Chris Evans all sharing the screen.

Iron Man trio Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson and Clark Gregg will also appear, joining newcomers Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye) and Mark Ruffalo (The Hulk) in the comic book adaptation.

Director Whedon recently unveiled his Avengers cast at Comic-Con, saying: "I've had a dream all my life, and it was not this good. This cast is more than I could ever dream of working with, and I am going to blow it."

Paramount is releasing The Avengers on May 4, 2012.

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Stallone promises "radical" 'Expendables 2'

Sylvester Stallone has said that he has a "radical" idea for an Expendables sequel.

The actor told the Los Angeles Times that he is hoping big box office returns will allow him to make a follow-up to his blockbuster, which features action stars Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Jet Li, Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

He said: "If this does perform, I think it will open a little more liquidity in funding the sequel. I have an idea ready to go.

"People think doing a sequel is easy, but it's not because you need the element of surprise. I'm going to try to do something that's quite radical."

The Expendables opens in the US this weekend and bows in the UK on August 19

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Nicolas Cage hails January Jones

Nicolas Cage has praised January Jones and predicted that she will have a successful movie career.

The actor starred alongside Jones in an upcoming film and revealed that he is eager to collaborate with her on another project.

Asked who has blown his mind, Cage told Metro: "January Jones from Mad Men. I think she's going to be a very big movie star. She plays my wife in this film noir The Hungry Rabbit Jumps and she's just wonderful.

"In fact, I want to talk to her because I think we should work together again. It's a good chemistry and there’s something about her that's compelling and dangerous to watch."

Quizzed on his motivation to become an actor, Cage said: "An insane desire to try to be like James Dean in East Of Eden. And I think I became something else. But that was my awakening to the power of film acting.

"Up until then I was mostly watching Clint Eastwood, Charles Bronson and Jason And The Argonauts, which I loved. But it was James Dean trying to give his father the money he got from selling the beans on his birthday and Raymond Massey saying no that broke my heart.

"I knew then the power of film and that it would move people more than any song or painting. I knew if I could do that as an actor then you could really do some good."

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Spyglass in talks to take over MGM

Spyglass Entertainment is in talks to take over debt-stricken studio MGM.

Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum, who run production firm and financier Spyglass, are hoping to take control of a 4% stake in the company and fold its own library into MGM's.

Should the deal go through, MGM's creditors will relieve the company of its $4 billion debt and take a majority stake in the firm. The move will reportedly save the 86-year-old studio from forced bankruptcy.

After financial restructuring, MGM allegedly intends to lists its value as $1.9 billion.

MGM owns the right to the James Bond franchise and Peter Jackson's upcoming Hobbit films, however both franchises have been unable to move ahead while MGM's financial future is uncertain.

Birnbaum and Barber formed Spyglass in 1998 with a five-year distribution deal with Disney. It has since partnered up with other studios and financed its own projects.

Recent Spyglass releases include Star Trek, Get Him To The Greek and Dinner For Schmucks.

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Nicolas Cage is '100 per cent eccentric'

Jay Baruchel has revealed that he spent most of his time on set with Sorcerer's Apprentice star Nicolas Cage engaged in "nerd talk".

Speaking to Digital Spy, Baruchel said that Cage is "100 per cent" eccentric and would often discuss subjects ranging from war to Canadian industrial band Skinny Puppy.

He said of his co-star: "I guess it would maybe make more of an impact to someone else who wasn't as eccentric as he is but I'm every bit as odd as he is so I think we were made for each other in that respect.

"Most of our conversations off-set, very few of them had to do with the f**king movie! It was always about World War II or pyramids in Egypt or Skinny Puppy or all sorts of random nerd talk."

Baruchel added that he has admired Cage since watching him in Con Air when he was 15.

"Oh my God, man, you can't help but become a better actor [when working with him]," he said. "I remember sneaking into Con Air when I was 15 and here I am not only acting with him but in conversation with him. It spurred me on and made me want to be better than I've ever been."

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Roberts 'happy to take lead roles again'

Actress Julia Roberts has said that the pleasant experience shooting her new film has restored her interest in taking leading acting roles.

The star told Reuters that before filming Eat Pray Love, she was unconvinced that she wanted to play main characters at this stage of her career, but the joyful shoot changed her mind.

''I haven't done a main part in a movie in a long time and I wondered if that kind of workload would still be interesting to me, and I was very happy at the end of this that I felt incredibly fulfilled as a creative person,'' she said.

Roberts added that she found her character in Eat Pray Love to be a true challenge to portray.

''I was definitely outside of my comfort zone but, I mean, as an actor that's what you want to go to work for,'' she said. ''It's to find a thing that's challenging and unnerving and far-reaching.''

Eat Pray Love is to premiere in US cinemas on August 13.

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Eve Hewson joins Sean Penn in 'Place'

Actress Eve Hewson has landed a supporting role in the upcoming Sean Penn indie drama This Must Be the Place.

According to Variety, the newcomer will also join Oscar winner Frances McDormand in the film, directed by Paolo Sorrentino.

The movie centres on a veteran rock star (Penn) who pursues a Nazi criminal after they abused his father.

Hewson, who starred in the 2008 film The 27 Club, will play a punk rock fan and friend of Penn's character.

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Cage went into 'zen-mode' for film stunts

Nicolas Cage has discussed the car stunts he performed in new film Drive Angry 3D, saying that he had to 'go into zen-mode'.

The Gone In 60 Seconds star plays a vengeful father who chases after the men who killed his daughter.

According to Yahoo, he said: "I'm okay when I'm driving alone - it's when I have various stunt women on the hood and I'm driving at speeds approaching 80, 90, 100mph, then I got a little nervous.

"I go into a focused, concentrated zen-mode where I keep chanting to myself, 'No-one is going to get hurt, no-one is going to get hurt, no-one is going to get hurt', and thankfully no-one did - but definitely my adrenalin was up!"

The actor added about the style of the movie: "It hailed from movies that I really enjoyed from the '70s, like High Plains Drifter. Movies that are largely responsible for compelling me to want to be a film actor.

"The idea of taking that style of filmmaking and adding 3D to it seemed to be just a little too special to pass up, it was a very fresh concept. I wanted to see those movies come to life in a third dimension."

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Aniston: 'Bateman is hilarious and moving'

Jennifer Aniston has praised her co-star Jason Bateman for his role in their new film The Switch.

The pair play best friends Kassie and Wally, who end up having a child together.

According to Yahoo, the Friends star said of Bateman's performance: "I hope I'm not being biased but I really think that this is his greatest performance ever. It's hilarious, it's also moving and heartbreaking and I just think he's fantastic."

The Arrested Development actor added: "For me I kind of liked the message that, I don't know that people will pick up on, but it's certainly what I liked, which is that a best friend is not necessarily a bad candidate for a long-term relationship.

"It's worked for me in my life, with my wife, so, that's kind of what this movie is saying."

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Ryan Reynolds may leave Deadpool role

Deadpool creator Robert Liefeld has revealed that Ryan Reynolds's commitment to the Green Lantern franchise could stop him starring in the proposed movie about the Marvel character.

In a series of messages posted on his Twitter account, Liefeld explained that Warner Bros' plans to make two Green Lantern films back-to-back could force 20th Century Fox to pull the plug on their Robert Rodriguez-helmed Deadpool project.

"Warner Bros just trying to protect their investment," Liefeld wrote. "They don’t want Ryan Reynolds playing Deadpool AND Green Lantern. Interesting 2 watch. Bottom line about Deadpool film is that if FOX doesn’t pull the DP film together with Ryan Reynolds between GL films-they should Hari Kari."

Liefeld claimed that Warner Bros is intent on disrupting the rival superhero picture, but suggested that there is still a chance the clash will be resolved: "Hopefully cool heads prevail and are reminded of Harrison Ford and how he played Indiana Jones and Han Solo simultaneously."

Reynolds appeared as Marvel's Deadpool in last year's X-Men Origins: Wolverine and is expected to appear as DC Comics hero Hal Jordan in a Green Lantern trilogy.

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Zac Efron 'didn't like Footloose script'

Zac Efron has claimed that he walked out on starring in the Footloose remake because he didn't like the script for the project.

Speaking to Details, the 22-year-old revealed that he felt the revamped Footloose, which would have been directed by his High School Musical helmer Kenny Ortega, was straying too far from the original.

"All the things I loved about Footloose I couldn't find in the project," Efron said. "They just weren't there. I couldn't see myself doing it."

Efron added that he had to call Ortega himself to inform him he didn't want to make the movie. "I love Kenny with all my heart. It was literally the hardest phone call I've ever made," he said.

Ortega admitted that he failed in his attempts to convince Efron to make the film, saying: "I was doing my very, very best to excite him and inspire him into wanting to do this. I believed in my heart that we could do it together as a team, and I fought to keep him in the game."

Footloose, which shot Kevin Bacon to fame in 1984, is now being made with Hustle & Flow's Craig Brewer directing newcomer Kenny Wormald in the lead role.
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Paramount to adapt 'Last Man Standing'

Paramount Pictures has acquired the rights to Kevin Eastman's graphic novel Last Man Standing, SlashFilm reports.

Co-created by artist Daniel LuVisi, the sci-fi fantasy book was unveiled at Comic-Con last month.

The storyline follows a genetically engineered soldier who is framed and imprisoned in the treacherous Level-9 Prison Facility. Following his escape, the character discovers that he is dying and faces a race against time to unravel the conspiracy behind his incarceration.

"It's a story of mine I've been crafting over the past two and a half years. I want it to be a graphic novel series, but start it in a non-traditional-type way," LuVisi told Deadline.

"Where most comics start off with a first issue, this starts off with a 230-page bible of a book, 'Killbook of a Bounty Hunter', that sets up the entire universe of the LMS world. But not only that, the audience gets an incredibly deep perspective on the protagonist, Gabriel, and what his plans are now that he's escaped from Level-9."

Paramount purchased the rights for the title just weeks after it debuted at the San Diego convention.

Published by Heavy Metal Publishing, Last Man Standing will be available in stores in September

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